CH 60.1

“Anne, have I been given the second chance that humans have?”

Daymond pressed himself against the portrait and stroked her face with his fingertips several times. He touched her lips, which would never open again, and pressed himself harder against the cold painting.

“This time, if the opportunity to love you properly comes…”

Daymond closed his eyes and called out to her while gripping the canvas. Even at this moment, when her name appeared in his head, he both hated and missed her madly.

Having become a cowardly man, he kissed the old painting that smelled only of paper and oil paint.

* * *

Marie and the escort knights, who had left for the capital together with Anne, all returned to the Grand Duke’s residence the next day.

They were quite taken aback by the fact that the Grand Duchess, whom they thought was in Libelois, had returned to the Grand Duke’s castle before they knew it.

They didn’t know the details, but they had heard that the Grand Duke had brought her himself. They were reprimanded for neglecting the Grand Duchess’s protection.

After that incident, Libelois was destroyed. The Grand Duke was not a man who only bluffs. From the day he brought Anne to the castle, he started working secretly by dispatching people.

He took away all the properties of County Libelois on the basis of debt and removed the name of the Libelois family from the list of nobles on the pretext of threatening the Grand Duchess. He had power equivalent to that of the Emperor, so he settled everything neatly by sending a messenger to the Imperial family to notify them of the outcome.

Less than two days after all the work had been completed, the news reached Anne’s ears. It was something Emily found out secretly from a merchant who came to deliver goods to the Grand Duchy.

“The name of the Libelois family has been erased, and the Count and Lord Robert have disappeared. Madam, are you okay?”

Thinking Anne might be in shock, Emily looked rather worried.

Anne’s hand, which had been combing her hair, halted. In fact, she had expected to some extent that the Grand Duke would take such an action, so she did not mind this turn of events at all. Surprisingly she only had a slight sense of guilt, but that was all.

This time, she didn’t even bother to ask him to look after her family. Any reason for her to show them generosity was gone. They had done something a family should never have done, so she brushed off even the slightest bit of remorse.

“Yes. Excessive greed will incur wrath. They should be grateful that their lives had been spared.”

“It does, but…”

“From now on, you don’t have to bring any news about Libelois to me. There’s nothing to care about.”

Her pale gold hair, shining softly in the light coming through the window, was gently combed. Contrary to Anne’s calm face, Emily’s expression disturbed. Emily may be bothered about her one-time love with Robert, thought Anne. She closed her mouth on the topic.

But there was one catch. After that day, the Grand Duke began to distance himself from Anne. The Grand Duke, who used to go to her every night, never stepped beyond her door. He told her to rest and even allowed her to use the bedroom in the east wing where she used to stay.

He didn’t insist on sex, so she felt somehow sad even though it was something she should actually be happy with.

He seems to have changed a little.

It was similar to how the Grand Duke acted for about a week before he went to subjugate the monsters, but it was also different. It was a fleeting whim back then, but this time there was a subtle difference. When she saw him at dinner, he showed an effort to suppress his temper.

I don’t know what caused him to change, but I hope the change lasts for a long time this time.

Whenever she faced him, who seemed like a completely different person, Anne felt her heart throb. She did not forget his touch when he hugged her gently in the forest. As a result, her determination, that had been firmly pledged when she came here, was constantly shaken.

Wouldn’t it be okay to have a child and stay here forever?

Marie was not his mistress, and the family members who used her succession to scheme were gone. Added with his changed appearance, hope arose that it would not be bad to settle down and live here.

Anyway, he was still a benefactor who had saved her during a desperate moment, so he was being re-evaluated in her mind.

Anne rose from the vanity chair, took off the silk gown and handed it to Emily. As she lay down on the wide bed, the fluffy and soft sheets warmed her heart. It had only been a few days since she had been away from the house and she had missed this bed very much.

Anne put her hand to the pillow where her head rested. When everything was settled and comfortable, her eyelids crept shut.

That day. Anne had her third dream, and in the end she collapsed.